fairnymph

Wow, this is surprisingly nice! It's a light, sweet, fruity scent in the bottle that's quite fresh, a tart edge - the pomegranate is definitely standing out. The lotus doesn't smell like bubblegum at all, although it's still a sweet, girly floral - it reminds me more of Davana here note-wise. On my skin, it's still a fresh fruity floral but with a bit more depth; still juicy, but backed up by something more. The rose is much more apparent, though this is not a bullying rose note by any means, but more subtle, almost resinous, like crystallized red rose. The lotus combined with the softly creamy red sandalwood provide a sense of golden glowing warmth that's lovely. But a few notes are niggling away in the background unpleasantly - a hint of perfumey powder from the amber, which is not a type that suits my skin, I can tell, and a sort of soapy, but still dark and sort of 'smudged', incensey frankincense, and then a murky haze of opium, though it's thankfully not as heavy on my skin as opium usually is. I can at least see through this haze; it's not smothering. Still, these latter 3 notes for me clash with the lighter, girlier, more luminescent fruit, florals and sandalwood, really dragging it down, or dirtying or defiling it. Which could be a vibe that works for some people, but not for me. The red sandalwood has amped up quite a bit, and is deliciously creamy, musky and both adds that warmth and a bit of an exotic, oriental feel (specifically, I imagine a female yogi emits this scent). Amber bridges the gap between the wood and incense notes; much less perfumey, despite having amped, it's now only faintly, pleasantly powdery, and very much warm, golden, and summery (it's one of the ambers in L'Estate, I'm sure of it). The opium and frankincense have merged so that they can't be easily picked out, and together lend a soft wisp of faded incense, again oriental - how a quiet temple smells between services, but with the lingering essence of worship still present in the air. Very soft, a sort of smoky golden colour that complements the golden lotus & warm-tone sandalwood perfectly. The pomegranate is the note that has faded the most, despite being initially strongest and a note that my skin generally holds very well; I can still pick it out, but it's a struggle because it's so much lighter and this scent is so impenetrable. It still adds some sweet-tart fruitiness which prevents this scent from being too dull or hazy, as well as deep reddish depth that reminds me, again, of late summer and its bounty of fruit. The rose and lotus seem to merge in a manner similar to the incense nose, and both have a crystalline, but not sharp or sparkling, more of muted glow that comes across as coral-colured. The rose has amped up a bit as rose does on me usually, but the lotus hasn't, surprisingly; it has held at a constant level over time, and tempers the rosiness of the rose otto as well as adding a lighter floral top-note rose's deeper heart-note. These florals really round out the scent and also give the blend a distinctly feminine, and again, somewhat exotic feel. This dries down QUITE differently - and I wasn't paying attention so an hour at least has passed and it smells totally different. It has really come together as scent; it's beautifully balanced and complex yet seamless. It doesn't have that initial fresh, bright fruity-floral quality thatI liked at first anymore, but is instead now very subdued, tranquil in feel. It reminds me very much of Dolce Stil Nuovo (a scent I just found out I love!), not so much in notes, although the final drydown is in the same general scent category, I would say - but very much in terms of the vibe of scent. Peaceful and soothing and all that I just said, just like DSN, but whereas DSN has a 'cool' bluish-lavender feel to it, like an early morning in Spring on a weekend, Lotus Mun has a 'warm' energy, more like sunset when things air is still warm but the hot late Summer day has begun to cool off, and is not longer sweltering but instead just pleasantly, lightly warm. Softly sweet & sunset-hued florals and subtle, sweet red fruit over a warm base of musky, creamy sandalwood and summery, golden amber with a distant, reverent hint of lingering incense of a calm, quiet temple in some exotic Eastern place, on an August evening at twilight. I don't do warm scents, but this is a STUNNINGLY evocative and masterfully blended scent that I very much enjoy smelling on myself right now. It's both soothing and energizing, and above all deeply comforting, like a hug from loving maternal figure. This have excellent throw, though it does fade a bit it sort of amps back up, and it has good longevity, too. Brava, Beth! This may be your best Lunacy so far this year.

#98 Rich sugary & buttery (definitely some tonka in here) vanilla frosting and some sort of juicy, refreshing fruit - maybe melon and cucumber? But underneath it is a strange dark earthy note, maybe a smoky wood or tobacco not - not necessarily unpleasant, but a bit at odds with the other notes. There's also a weird plastic/rubber tinge to this scent. This rapidly turns to the mustiness that most baked goods foody scents do on me, with a sort of nauseating clash between the cloying tonka and dark note, that smells like burnt wood that's been dipped in water, or maybe stale cigarettes a little - oh, it's really not good. I get a bit of sugared violet, very much like Faith, so it's like the melon and tonka and dark note have been layered over Faith, bc that creamy sweet vanilla-ness IS the strongest note. Not a lot of morphing after the first few minutes, other than that dark note fading dramatically It's rich buttery tonka and sugared violets over vanilla frosting with a lingering wisp stale cigarette smoke and dark wood. Much more pleasant than initially on my skin, with good throw and excellent longevity. It's too foody for me, but one of the better CT Vanillas I have tried by FAR.

Decants here from a circle. CT Vanilla 186 (I bet #86 a few posts above is actually #186 or our decants were mislabeled bc they seriously sound similar) Boozy grape, maybe wine? But boozier than that - like a brandy or whiskey note, and some bourbon vanilla. Also very mentholic/medicinal like some sort of (cherry?) cough syrup, but very sharp, unpleasant, plastic and fake smelling - this is absolutely the worst part of the blend. I also get a bit of foody baked goods mustiness on the drydown though it's only mildly foody in the imp. The throw is also VERY strong and that harsh medicinal note is absolutely unbearable. Off to the sink. CT Vanilla 102 Soft. There if a faint iris note and maybe a touch of lily or orchid - I get a clean, nocturnal feel that I get from a lot of the Funereal florals. However, the florals here are subdued and well-behaved, and play definite second fiddle to the very realistic vanilla angel food's cake base. It's sweet, and foody but not buttery or cloying or too-rich. It's more fluffy, almost meringue light and quite lovely, with a sort of crystallized sugary edge and hint of some red berry. I quite like this one, but it's very faint and seems to fade quite a bit, unlike the horrible one above, which of course, is the one that amps into insane throw.

CT Vanilla 40 Soapy-powdery florals (a bad sort of rose?) and sort of nutty maple syrup? I'm not getting much vanilla out of this one at all, though there is a definitely syrupy sweet foodiness beneath the soapy powdery floral top layer. Definitely a nut or grain of some sort, which in combo with the maple syrup makes me think pancakes. I get a bit of a Dana O'Shee vibe with the maple-syrupy grains, and I think there is some honey in here too. In fact it reminds me a little of O, this particular honey note. The florals are surprisingly fainter on my skin, but I'm positive about the rose, and I think it might be a type of white rose, like the note in Katrina Van Tassel. It's much more pleasant and less 'old lady floral talcum powder' within just minutes, and if there's any vanilla here it's merging with the rose in a sort of KvT/Hope sort of way 'sugared vanilla with rose' and a creamy edge Before it's even dry the notes seem to balance out so that they are all about even in potency, and a new note has emerged, a sort of fizzy lime note. With the evolution of the rose into a much nicer note - almost backwards evolution, from soapy powder to softly powdery but much fresher, more well-behaved rose - I could almost like this. Except that the maple-syrup drenched honey-nut pancakes 1) really don't work with the sugar/vanilla/lime/rose and 2) I just don't like that sort of foody scent ever, period. I wish I could take the first part by itself bc it reminds me of this wonderful fizzy bath scent from Fantasy Bath called Days of Limes and Roses, and I find it refreshing and lovely with a sugary-creamy edge that makes it rather girly. This is oddly melding together somehow. The layers are merging. It's still REALLY odd, but it's not BAD, and it's no longer so chaotic. However, it's also fading very quickly, which could explain it being more pleasant and coalesced to my nose. I have tried many CTs (nearly a hundred) and this may be the oddest scent I have ever tried, in terms of really bizarre combinations of notes. Faint honeynut pancakes and vanilla syrup with trace of sugared lime and vanilla-creamed white roses, but it's a wisp - like I'm eating the aforementioned meal and the smell of fruit and flowers is wafting in faintly through the open window in the Spring air, or there's a vase of roses on the table and I'm drinking limeade, or maybe I just took a bath with that fizzy lime & bath scent and then put on a creamy sugary vanilla body lotion. Really interesting how this one coalesced then diverged and now is so evocative, and actually turns out to be not so bad. Not something I'd wear, especially given how my skin EATS this, but crazy morphing into a final drydown that's quite wearable.

#198 In the bottle, it's all rich, boozy vanilla buttercream frosty, very foody, sweet but not cloying, and highly decadent. On my skin, the foodiness is still very much present and doesn't morph but remains true - however, three notes immediately emerge. One is a sexy, musky rich and creamy sandalwood note that reminds me of Antique Lace, XCLD13, and Jingo-Kogo. Two is a warm, slightly powdery-perfume, 'lacy' feeling amber that I'm POSITIVE is the same one from Antique Lace. Three is a personal nemesis note for me, namely Sweet Pea, which turns into intense powder rapidly and amps up to hover over the other notes. However, because the bourbon vanilla, buttercream, and sandalwood notes are pretty damn strong in their own right, they are not overwhelmed. I'm sure that on most people without my reaction to sweet pea, this would be a very lovely blend. But it's not a scent I can wear, bc not only is sweet pea a NO, NOT EVER sort of dealbreaker note in perfume for me, but this is just too foody and rich. The sweetness is substantial but of a level I find pleasant, so it's really just the rich foody buttercream frosting that I can't tolerate. It also goes a little musty on me the way that most 'foody' scents do once fully dry, so I hope this finds its way to a home where it can be enjoyed. Later a definite purple-blue vibed berry comes out - blueberry is my first guess, so this makes me think of blueberry muffins now (with frosting & sugared flower garnish!), but it could be huckleberry bc it's not the same note as in Blue Phoenix.

This smells like plum pudding/christmas pudding with spices and dried fruits and cake, then doused in butter-brandy custard sauce (which could be a butter rum note) - it really reminded me of Christmas in Australia when my grandmother was still alive and made her pudding every year. Very evocative scent, quite POTENT, but not cloying or unappealing. I'd never wear it as a non-foody person, but it's much more appealing than most 'dessert' like scents in BPAL, bc it smells so realistic and yet doesn't have any unpleasant edges, like too-sharp spices, heavy butter, musty cake drydown, etc. It is very similar to Fruitcake, actually, which is one of very few food scents I can wear and that doesn't turn badly on my skin.

Cool sweet mint, like the minty snow note in Ded Moroz and When the Winter Chrysanthemums Go, pretty much exactly that note except in those blends, the spearmint:peppermint ratio is about 50:50 and here it is more like 70:30, so a lot more spearmint. As a result, it's sweeter, gentler, and also less cool, not as icy, bc it has less of that peppermint mentholic aspect. And, unlike those two Yules, this scent is like 90% 'cool snowy spearmint-forward minty blend' - i.e., it's just snow, but there is a faint creamy backdrop of something else beyond the mints. WHOA, minty blast (sinus clearing!) with the peppermint peeking out a bit more but still definitely in second place, and spearmint still ruling, but now I am getting other mints I think too...chocolate mint, lemon mint, and maybe ginger mint? And definitely some catnip. This feels much more green now, and I almost positive there's thyme and and maybe some geranium Very herbal, almost medicinal, but very pleasant. It reminds me of a snowy Panacea, most significantly Bitch & Ugh minus the citrus/fruit. That subtle creaminess persists and is more distinct though still light - and I can't place it - though I really don't think it's coconut or almond, maybe something like vanilla musk? This reminds me a lot of something very familiar. And I get a faint fresh watery note that I really think is cucumber. Definitely some cucumber; I get more of a darker green, slightly bitter, extremely realistic cucumber peel now in addition to the pulp, which has an almost honeydew melony fruity sweetness that's highly refreshing. The mints have faed a bit, and are the mentholic blast was definite short lived, but the spearmint & peppermint notes have change such that the ratio is more 60:40 now. I like a brand of body products called Deep Steep, and one of their fragrance chocies for body washes and creams and such is 'Honeydew Spearmint' - it's a scent I absolutely adore - and this is almost identical! So there must be a bit of honeydew melon in here, too. This scent reminds me of Tulzcha quite a bit - very, very similar feel - fresh, light, minty, but softly sweet and overall a rather gentle scent with some depth and a surprisngly complex, COMPLETE, 'polished' feel - nothing is missing here. As for the creaminess - it's taken a sugary, almost candied turn on my skin (like in Velvet Unicorn, but it's much lighter & less rich here), and I still stand by the musk presence, so it's like sugared cream poured over vanilla musk. The vanilla musk and the cool, light, polished and absolutely pleasnt feel (as in no one could dislike this) remind me of The Girl - not very much in actual scent, but in vibe & evocative imagery, which is very appropriate for Snow White! The late drydown is quite different, surprising - we're talking like several hours later - an evergreen woodsy note of some type has emerged, it's slightly pine but it's not pine or the most common snow that is harshly piney - I think it might be spruce, bc it has a a dark green-blue feel, quite a bit of depth with a dark edge scent-wise , though there's just a hint of this evergreen note so it doesn't drag down the scent, just adds an interesting facet. There's a very little touch of juniper berry, evoking gin faintly. I also get some Birch, the same slightly sparkling sweet, birch-beer like note from Talvikuu and The Girl - this is also clearly responsible for some of the creaminess, though after several hours much of the creaminess dissipates. Actually, this reminds me very much of The Girl overall now scentwise, because a whole lot of musk(s) have emerged, including pale, crystalline and probably that vanilla one, and the same star jasmine note has appeared, too. I think I smell the white amber, too, which added some creamy brightness earlier but now has gone slightly powdery, and davana could be responsible for the pink-feeling creamy sugar-candy aspect, though the melon still provides sweetness too - much like the candied melon note in Earth Rat. I just sniffed my bottle of The Girl (a scent that doesn't morph from the bottle on my skin so strikingly like this scent), and the resemblance is uncanny. The mints have faded but remain and do make this scent distinctly unique, the melon is virtually gone, and the cucumber is very faint, mostly peel. The thyme note could be immortelle - they're similar types of herbal notes, subtle now. Good throw, and fantastic longevity other than the morphing; as a scent overall, this remains strong, even amps over time on my skin a bit then holds firmly. Basically, Snow White v2 is The Girl minus the slightly cloying ylang ylang, plus a spearmint-driven version of the blended minty snow note, cucumber peel and a little pulp, candied honeydew melon, stronger, more complex, and vanilllic musks, maybe a hint of short-lived geranium as well as possibly some other herbs, especially other mints and then more faintly in the later drydown, a little bit of spruce. It's scent that is absolutely gorgeous at every stage but that morphs quite a bit scentwise, but never loses its essential feel of creamy, elegant, cool, pale musky femininity. In the end, it becomes very difficult to dissect the scent bc of how beautifully and seamlessly all the notes blend into a perfect, shimmering, cool, sweet musky skin-scent that's like a diamond or time frozen - impenetrable and utterly spellbinding in its gleaming brilliance. Absolutely stunning.

LAVENDER, similar to TKO but a softer scent, just lighter in feel and potency overall - and not remotely like the released version, not at ALL that I could tell in any way from sniffing the bottle. I seriously though it had gotten confused...so I wonder if the bottles I bought will vary from the tester. EDIT! : So, the above notes were from what I smelled in the test bottle. Now that I've smelled the actual bottles I received, they smel quitedifferent from that tester, as follows. The Morocco proto is noticeably but not dramatically different in scent but similar in feel to the released version, and has a lot of complexity - it seems more complex, or maybe less well-blended, than the GC. The tester bottle was minty lavender, but all the actual bottles I got are spices and warm amber and exotic woods and have only a mild bit of the TKO lavender note - and others observed this discrepancy as well so I think it was a mislabeled tester bottle. I haven't skin tested , but in the bottle it's like Morocco with a bit of Lamia v3 (same cardamom note) and a teensy bit of Glowing Vulva thrown in (maybe some teak?), a quite significantly present TKO-lavender note, and then a lot of L'Estate-like amber (golden?) with a fair bit of powdery edge to it. It is a strong scent, like the GC, but perhaps even more potent. It isn't quite as creamy or as sweet as the GC (though it does have some of those aspects), but that could be due to the stronger spice, lavender and amber notes, and again, I have yet to test on my skin.

Coffee!; creamy, foody, sweet COFFEE, like a milky espresso drink with flavoured syrup. I think this will be quite a popular one.

Chocolate and nutty grain(s), like amaranth or barley as in Dana O Shee; a creamy, sweet, foody scent with good complexity.

This is a soft, creamy vanilla with a very velvety carnation note, and it's substantially different from either the original or resurrected versions, with much more creamy vanilla, some sandalwood, much more creaminess. It's more sweet, and most significantly, has a very different, gentler type of carnation note - more like a white soft pink carnation; of all the blends I've test, this reminds me most of Morocco (released version) but with barely any spice, and a little of the Jingo-Kogo & Ameratsu vibe, due to the shared (same or similar) sandalwood note that's creamy and musky. Blush-tinged ivory feel, overall, and one I may like for myself!

Another one I really wanted to love based on name alone - I adore metal both in perfume and as tactile sustance and abstract concept. I did skin test this one, and got barely ripe, slightly green, sweet-tart NECTARINE with some chrome (maybe - honestly, it could be my imagine as this is on my skin a very smooth scent with that edge I get from metallic notes), maybe the soft leather from U (or it could be that same raw vanilla note as well as a little grassy balsam that reminds me of U) and some sort of creamy, very likely vanilla musk emerged strongly on the dry down, some skin musk, too; reminds me of cross between Ebisu, U, and Fae. This needs a bit of slathering, and doesn't have much throw, but it does hold quite well. I really loved this and wanted a lot of it AND was asked by many to pick it up - so, OF COURSE, this was one of the most popular scents of the night and sold out very quickly. Wahhhh! I need more!

In the bottle: Grassy paper/wood pulp - much like Ü, but a much softer, lighter scent. On me: Greener, brighter. Definitely some fresh-cut grass, some of that same balsam note from Ü, some dry wood that could be a sandalwood, or a well-behaved cedar (the wood note reminds me a bit of the woodiness in Jolly Roger), and a light, sweet floral (s) which I am almost positive is cherry blossom - maybe some peony in here too, and something like a vanilla musk? It's slow to dry but sweetening rapidly on my skin. I also get a fruity edge, something-sweet tart and tropical - mangosteen? This is very multi-faceted and complex and doesn't fit neatly into one category of scent. It has green, woody, musky, floral and fruity elements but I wouldn't peg it as clearly being ONE of those - it reminds me of Croquet in that regard.

Sweet, rich strawberry, almost jammy, a little cloying with something dark in the distance, maybe some musk, or black amber. Overall, just a lot darker than I expected, not at all like either released version in any significant way (other than that all have a strawberry note, but in each the strawberry note is different). This does have very good longevity, and it barely morphs at all on my skin from the bottle scent.

Deliciously bright, sweet, fresh, fruit but without the cloying aspect of the released version - a much crisper pear note and some other different fruits, too. Substantially different from released version all around, although unfortunately one major difference is that this scent has low throw and miserable longevity, such that my skin devoured this despite slathering within minutes. A favourite, but not sure it's worth it considering its rapid evanescence.